City Witchery

August 2, 2021
Magic practitioner Basile (Light Magic for Dark Times) presents a useful guide to help readers “develop a sacred practice” through writing prompts and activities focused on living in and exploring city environments. Basile acknowledges that much conversation around witchcraft encourages a relationship with nature and green spaces, which can be lacking in urban areas. As a remedy, she shares empowering rituals for city dwellers. For example, the concept of intuitive wandering (walking around and “noticing synchronicities” of “words, numbers, images, colors, names, things that happen after you think of them, or symbols”) is encouraged and requires one to take note of places where one can feel “something powerful occurred.” Chapters start with overviews of basic practices such as grounding, shielding, and cleansing, and the author covers other common magic concepts—moon magic, sigils, crystals, kitchen witchery—that can be utilized for various purposes; for example, the “culinary history” of a location can be explored and integrated into one’s cooking routine to form a bond with the city, while a portable altar may be a good choice for small spaces or moving around urban areas. Illustrations with subtle color palettes also showcase cityscapes and magical supplies. Urban witches will love this.